Above, 16-year-old messenger boy entering “crib” in Red Light district, Lewis Wickes Hine, 1913, National Child Labor Committee Collection, Library of Congress
Begin with Chapter One ~ Return to Chapter Fifty-Four
Dr. Ferdinand Peter Herff, November 1913
With the approach of the winter solstice, the darkness makes it feel much later than six o’clock. Peter fumbles with his keys to lock his office door.
“Good evening, Dr. Herff,” booms a voice so close behind him that the doctor drops the keys on the stoop.
“Mister Koehler, I didn’t realize you were standing there. Let me open up my office.”
“No, no, that’s unnecessary at this late hour. I merely stopped by to ask for your help. There’s a young lady, someone with whom you might be acquainted, who has begged me for assistance. I told her I would speak with you.”
“How can I be of assistance? Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer to go inside?”
“Yes. And she doesn’t want to come to your office either. I’ll make arrangements for her to meet you at a boarding house on South Santa Rosa one morning to minister discreetly to her problems.”
Continue reading “An Ostrich-Plumed Hat: Chapter Fifty-Five”
